Ace of Hearts
by Pearl Primrose
Summary: Thorin will never be an ace of hearts, but he might as well try. Drabbles from Thorin's POV as he's falling in love.
1. Thorin Listens

_**Author's Note: **_The title of the fic is a joke since Thorin will never be an ace of hearts. This is a drabble piece from Thorin's point of view, concerning events from my multi-chapter fic, "Heroes." It can be enjoyed separately if you've never read "Heroes," and just get a kick out of Thorin's POV. Hope you enjoy. Dedicated to anna. pantelarou, who wanted to know more.

_**Disclaimer: **_Do not own or will ever own _The Hobbit_.

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"What―what are you gonna teach me?" Rue spoke up, hands behind her back as she bounced on the balls of her feet.

"To throw your dagger," Thorin said gruffly.

"Like at a tree?"

It had been a year since Thorin had _laughed_. Really laughed. Not a smirk or smile. During Durin's Day last year, he had been drinking some ale with Dwalin, allowing his muscles to unwind, allowing himself to remain careless of worries for one night. Dwalin had nudged him, pointing out across the tavern a suspicious shadow lurking in the corner. It had only taken seconds to realize who the shadow was: Kili. He had snuck into the tavern without permission. Maybe it had been the ale combined with Thorin's intent to remain carless for the night, but when Kili stood up and fell face flat, Thorin had guffawed like some naïve Dwarfling.

With Rue staring at him innocently, eyes big and round, resembling an owl's, Thorin could hardly control the urge to _laugh_. He frowned, using every last ounce of control to keep his mouth shut. He would not laugh. He would _not_.

* * *

Rue sat on a log in front of him, her small hands inches away from her mouth. She looked scared, and Thorin _despised _the fear in her eyes. No one under his leadership should have been so frightened, especially a woman. Thorin should've done more. There was always more he could have done, but he was never smart enough, fast enough, or strong enough. He was always lesser than. Never more.

"All right," Rue squeaked. "But you will be back, right? 'Cause―" Her eyes were wide, the firelight making her appear even more helpless than she already looked half the time. What was she going to say? Thorin wanted to know. For some reason, he liked listening to the things she said, even if her strange words baffled him at times.

Kili grew impatient, kicking the ground. Suddenly, he was hitching his sword upwards, sprinting in the direction him and Fili had come, where Mr. Baggins was trying to outwit a Troll all by himself.

He yelled frantically, "Bilbo, we're coming!"

Fili rolled his eyes, running after Kili. Thorin huffed and puffed in anger. Why were his nephews so senseless at times?

And then Thorin said one last thing to Miss Rue:

"Do not follow, Rue."

He chased after his nephews, having vague recollections of running after them when they were Dwarflings, trying to stop them from doing ridiculous things Dwarflings tended to do for fun. Why had he just referred to Miss Rue as…_Rue_? Thorin shook his head, perplexed. He knew one thing was for certain: he wished he could have heard her tell him kind things one last time. Her kind words never left his head.

* * *

Rue fell face flat, knees giving out, her mouth _smacking _against a rock. Blood. There was blood all over her mouth. Thorin tensed, seeing _who _was behind her, _who _had pushed her. Naji. The firelight danced across the shadows of his hideous face, giving light to his poor excuse for a beard. Rage breathed fire into Thorin. All he could see was red as his gaze steadied on _that_ Man. Thorin was going to make him regret ever meeting him, _ever _laying his hands on Rue.

"Miss Rue!" Kili bellowed from what felt like somewhere far away.

"Lass!" Gimli yelled. "How dare you treat a woman such a way!" Indeed. Men were like barn animals. They never knew how to give women the proper respect. Thorin was going to get out this sack, wrap his hands around Naji's throat, and―

Naji placed the tip of his poorly made blade at Rue's throat. She whimpered, hiccuping between tears. Her _tears_. That bastard had made Rue cry. He formed a fist inside the sack, wanting nothing more than to strike the Bree filth in the face. Again and again.

"So does seeing your whore in pain, anger you, King Under the Mountain?" Naji said bitingly, standing too close to Rue.

Thorin wouldn't give him a reaction. He could hear Balin's long ago advice reeling in his mind, "Thorin, Dwarves see you and they see how much of a reaction they can rile out of you. Do not give them so. Old friend, do not ever wear your heart on your sleeve, especially in front of non-Dwarves and _enemies_."

"Oh, so she does get a reaction out of you, does she?" Naji placed his hands on his sides arrogantly. "Tell me, Dwarf King, why is it if you are royalty that word says one of the Dwarves apart of this company is financing this quest and not yourself? If you cannot even take care of yourself, sister, and sister sons, then what makes you believe you can care for a woman from the race of Men?"

It felt like Thorin's heart was going to explode.

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_**Author's Note: **_Reviews are welcome! You can follow me on tumblr at pearlprimrose to read my shameless fanfic rants :)


	2. Thorin Sees

_**Author's Note: **_Here are three more snippets from Thorin's POV. Hope you enjoy! Apologies if the snippets are shorter than usual. I apologize if I didn't respond to every review for the last chapter. I know I said thank you to a few of you, since many of my reviewers also review "Heroes." I might've forgotten a few people! But thanks so much for taking the time to review this. It means a lot :)

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The world was vivid red, _blinding_ red. Thorin clenched underneath the monster's strength, hands stinging He was holding the hilt of his new sword too tight, so tight his knuckles were screaming in pain. But he couldn't bear it. He couldn't bear facing _him_. Not after all this time. Thorin felt his arms trembling, wanting to give out. Weakness. He was weak.

Then from the corner of his eye, he saw Rue standing by the rock, hesitation in her steps. Her eyes were big in fear, her legs shaking. No. He didn't want her to be afraid. She should not be afraid. Thorin would make sure harm never came upon her. She was under his leadership, under his protection―

Thorin lost his footing, landing on his bottom, elbows scraping against a mix of gravel and grass. He looked up as the deadly weapon came crashing down, one thought reeling in his mind: Rue must have thought him ridiculous.

He was going to die at the hands of a monster. Erebor lost forever.

* * *

"What are drugs?" Thorin asked, using the same voice he once used to ease Kili through his first time skinning a rabbit. He didn't understand why he was using a softer voice. All he understood was that he wanted to comfort Rue.

The feel of Rue's hands in his hands started to make Thorin feel…sick. What was this? Without thinking, he grazed her knuckles with his thumbs, wanting to make her feel safe, to feel protected.

"They're these illegal substances that do funny things to your mind and basically take away the person you know, and replace them with this mad stranger."

Thorin tightened his grip, staring Rue in her beautiful eyes. Her eyes were big and brown, and always seemed to persuade Thorin to make decisions he had never planned on making. Were drugs like the Dragon Sickness? Had Rue nursed her mother like Thorin had once nursed Thror through their last days in Erebor? Thorin swallowed hard. Grandfather. The memory of Grandfather brought a world of hurt to his chest.

Then Rue met his eyes, her eyes glistening…

Thorin felt seething rage, felt all these baffling things at once. All he knew was that he wanted to destroy whatever had brought tears to his Rue's eyes. Nothing was allowed to make his Rue cry. Not when Thorin was here.

* * *

That woman had spoken _maliciously_ to him, claiming untrue things, things that could never possibly be. Thorin could not rid his head of her lies.

He was at the bottom of a staircase, hoping to seek solitude. He heard a shuffle of noise behind him.

Thorin just knew it was Rue.

"Why do you seek me out?" he asked, unintentionally growling.

"Umm…I was just―" Her voice was so soft, so delicate. The vulnerability behind her words―everything about her―always made Thorin want to shelter her from peril, even if the peril was his temper. Sometimes, he just could not control it. He could not control lashing out at her. And he felt awful for it. Rue was too kind, too caring for the inferiority he was. Thorin was never good enough, he was always―

"Just what?" he snapped foolishly, spinning around to see her. There was no reason for him to speak to her in such a way, but yet he did. For the first time, Thorin noticed how moonlight shone against the curls of her hair, how she stood sheepishly. He remembered the feel of her hands in his own, the feel of her lower back as she had allowed his filthy hands to touch her in such an intimate place.

Rue refused to meet his eyes, whispering timidly, "I just wanted to know if you're okay."

Thorin's heart started to beat erratically, reminding him of days past of the bloody wars he had been in, of the minutes before charging at the enemy. Except there was no enemy. It was only _his_ Rue and him. Thorin mentally chided himself for his ridiculousness. Why was he calling Rue _his_?

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_**Author's Note: **_Feel free to review :) You can also follow me on Tumblr at pearlprimrose.


	3. Thorin Feels

_**Author's Note: **_I know it's been a while since I updated this one. I apologize. I've been getting behind in my writing's lately. Hope you enjoy these snippets. Thanks for the reviews :) Answer to obsessed reader will be below. This chapter is dedicated to Tulipa Negra who was hoping for an update.

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The words in front of Thorin made him feel…_sick_. Rue's diary was clutched between his shaking hands. He was angry, beyond seething. All he could see were the words screaming out at him tauntingly, reminding him that she desired another man. _I can't stop thinking about him, he's so strong and manly, I like to know what he's thinking, and even if he wasn't beautiful (or maybe it's everything about him that makes him beautiful to me), I would still have feelings for him._

Thorin wanted to throttle this man. Whoever this man was, he would never be good enough for _his_ Rue. She was no other man's. Rue was _his_.

Thorin's chest was rising and falling hastily. What had he just thought? He shook his head, trying to retrace his thoughts, trying to forget how he saw red. Just the thought of another man intending to court Rue, to _marry_ her―no. It was never going to happen. Thorin was not sure how he would stop her suitors―Mahal knew she must have had at least ten other men vying for her affections―but he would. Because when Thorin envisioned another man or―he cast a glimpse at the company, who were idling around camp―_Dwarf_ touching any inch of her beautiful flesh, _kissing_ her, it made him feel like he had gone mad.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Nori…smirking. Then the ugly truth hit him: Rue's desired was Nori.

* * *

"Bilbo's right!" Rue said, going to stand in front of that _creature_. "And he―he's defenseless! He needs help; maybe we can give him a bread crumb―"

The vile creature sank its teeth into Rue's hand. One second, she had been trying to protect the filth, and the next she was screaming in pain.

Her screams―Thorin felt like his blood was rushing to his head. He could not do anything else but imagine all the endless things that could be done to his Rue to make her scream in such a way. It terrified him, the sick realization that she could be hurt so easily.

No. The creature was going to _die_ by Thorin's hands wrapped around its scrawny neck. No one touched _his_ Rue.

Thorin lunged forward, kicking the creature square in the chest with all his might.

* * *

Thorin had no idea how it happened. One moment, Rue had been _touching_ his face. He had flinched away from the gesture, foolishly refusing to allow her to touch him. What was wrong with him? Then he had reached for her small hand, returning her palm to his cheek. The feeling of her touching him was…_indescribable_…the thought of Rue _wanting_ to touch him overwhelming. The next moment, Thorin had begun to brush the tears away from her eyes. Never before had he felt such strange stirrings in his stomach. Thorin felt sick…but this was unusual. Dwarves hardly ever fell ill. And this same feeling seemed to always occur when he was with his Rue.

Too soon, Thorin realized his mistake. He was touching her without permission. She was unwed. Thorin had no claim―no _right_―to touch her whenever he felt this strange instinct to. But he wanted to. Oh, Mahal, he _treasured_ the feel of her flesh beneath his fingertips. He treasured her words, and even more so the feel of her hands on any inch of his body. Rue had saved Kili's life; she had been injured for the sake of sparing the _creature's_ life. She had saved two lives. His body was on fire now. His throat felt constricted. She was crying…Thorin had made her cry. Again. Mahal was going to strike him down for being so foolish with such a rare jewel. He blinked, stupefied. What?

"I did not mean to make you cry," he said, using the same voice he once used to soothe Fili when he was a Dwarfling after a night terror.

* * *

No. Thorin's heart felt ready to combust. Rue had been standing by him. She had slipped from his fingertips. He was running, running _hard_, frantic breaths forming wisps in the air. She was ahead. Too far. Out of reach. Ori was on the ground, attempting to scramble to his feet. A blur of fur burst out of the plethora of trees. Ori's eyes grew owlish.

A Warg came for him, opening its mouth, getting ready to clamp down on the youngest Ri brother. Rue was going _there_. She was heading for Ori.

Thorin cast sideways glances, realizing Nori and Dori were running with him. That only magnetized the danger.

A flash of silver was in Rue's hand. Her dagger: Severus.

Blood was rushing to his head. No. _No_.

* * *

Hopeless. Thorin was hopeless. Death. He was going to die. And at Azog's hands nonetheless. Thorin was supposed to have avenged his Father―and Grandfather―not be knocked down and bitten by the monster's filthy beast. Not to die such a humiliating death.

He reached for Orcrist, the hilt a little ways from his fingertips. Just a bit farther and Thorin might not die an exiled King…

Blinding pain shot through his shoulder. He swallowed a grunt of pain, biting down on his lip. Thorin could feel throbbing on the corner of his lips―a bruise.

The world was on fire. No. Thorin would have rather died any other death than see fire. He remembered. Oh, he _remembered_. Smaug flying overhead, Dragon fire destroying the city of Men, obliterating Erebor―the only true home he had ever known. The hundreds of burned corpses, the crying, the _blood_. All because of Dragon fire.

Smoke dissipated through the air. Thorin blinked wearily. He was tired, every bone of his body roaring in pain.

Something touched his shoulder. He shifted, trying to muster all his might to reach for his sword―

Someone coughed. The sound of the cough was distinctly feminine…

"Who is there?" Thorin spat. Attempting to sit up, he could not stop himself from hissing in pain.

It happened in less than a blink of an eye. One moment, grass had been his only companion, and then there she was, by his side.

Thorin could not make sense of what had occurred. Those coughs had been his Rue's…but she had not been here until now. Was this some horrid trick from Mahal bestowed upon him?

She was beautiful in the firelight, like a gift and a curse sent from Mahal. Because Thorin was no fool. Rue was here, within sight of Azog, in danger of being hurt. But she was _here_, with him while he was on his back in the grass, death ready to greet him warmly.

Thorin wanted to touch her, wished so desperately she would allow his hands on her body. Rue had allowed him to touch her in intimate places: her hands, back, her beautiful face. Just once more, he wished to touch her; touch her lips, to bring his lips to hers and kiss her, to feel her pressed against him, to hear her tell him he was "strong and brave." When Rue said such things, he believed it. Kissing her…Thorin felt his face grow hot. It was the fire. It had to be. The thought of kissing her, of holding her close, of kissing the crook of her neck, of making Rue entirely his…

These were thoughts of a delirious Dwarf. She brought her hand to his uninjured shoulder. Thorin's heart beat frantically.

"Thorin, stay right here, okay? You gotta stay here, I'll make sure you're okay. Pl―please?" Rue sputtered.

He mulled over her words again and again. The sound of her voice was melodious, soothing the fire all around. She was kind, too kind. So cheerful and full of strange wisdom. Thorin recalled their numerous conversations, wishing for nothing more than the chance to hear her speak of her world, to hear her stutter her words, to see her smile. Her smile was beautiful. Everything about her was beautiful.

Thorin gazed into her eyes. Never had he known one woman could be so beautifully imperfect…

But because of those imperfections, Thorin longed for her like he had never longed for anyone in his one-hundred and ninety-five year-old life. He pined to feel her hands tangled in his hair as they kissed, to feel her hands on his chest as she undressed him, to hear her moan his name in sweet bliss as he caressed her breast, to see into her eyes as they bonded for life. His _one_. No, it could not be. He was too old, too broken…

Mahal, Thorin was done for.

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_**Author's Note: **_I added two more snippets! The last snippet was long since in my head, it was the moment Thorin truly fell for Rue ;) Now he's a goner LOL. Hope you review and let me know what you thought of the last snippet. I'm afraid it was OOC. My beta told me it wasn't, but still…

Obsessed reader: Thanks for the review! My favorite part of this review had to be "My heart weeps for Thorin and his inner dragons of self doubt and loathing. I hope that Rue can silence or at least tame those beasts within." That's exactly how I feel about Thorin! That he needs someone to tame his self-doubt and insecurities. It's such a beautiful thing in a way, thinking of someone making Thorin feel better about himself. Yep, Rue will crack the whip down on those nasty dragons ;)

Thanks again :)

PS: Awe, thanks for agreeing with oninhagb's review.


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